Occupation Actor Years active 1951 – 1991 | Name Georges Poujouly Role Actor | |
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Movies Forbidden Games, Elevator to the Gallows, If All the Guys in the World, Vice and Virtue, Peace in the Fields Similar People Brigitte Fossey, Rene Clement, Jacques Marin, Louis Malle, Christian‑Jaque | ||
Georges Poujouly - Biographie
Georges Poujouly (20 January 1940 in Garches, Hauts-de-Seine – 28 October 2000 in Villejuif, Val-de-Marne) was a French actor who gained international acclaim as a child for his performance in the award-winning film Forbidden Games. In the 1950s, he appeared in a number of other high-profile films, notably Les Diaboliques, And God Created Woman and Ascenseur pour l'échafaud. His later career was spent mainly in television, where he specialised in voiceover work.
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1950s
At the age of 11, Poujouly was chosen by film director René Clément for the role of Michel Dollé, befriender of the orphaned Paulette (Brigitte Fossey), in the World War II drama Forbidden Games (Jeux interdits). The film was not greatly successful on its original release in France, but struck a chord with audiences and critics in other countries and went on to win numerous awards, including the 1952 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Forbidden Games is considered a classic of French cinema, and the spare, haunting performances of Poujouly and Fossey among the most notable of screen performances by child actors.
In 1952, Poujouly played the role of Michel le Guen in André Cayatte's We Are All Murderers (Nous sommes tous des assassins). He played smaller parts in Henri-Georges Clouzot's celebrated 1955 suspense film Les Diaboliques, and Roger Vadim's And God Created Woman (Et dieu...créa la femme) in 1956. A more substantial role, as a car thief turned killer, came in 1958 in the Louis Malle-directed thriller Ascenseur pour l'échafaud, with Jeanne Moreau and Maurice Ronet.
Later career
From the 1960s, Poujouly worked mainly in television, with film appearances limited to small roles in such as Vice and Virtue (1963) and Is Paris Burning? (Paris brûle-t-il?) (1966). He appeared in a number of TV serials, and moved into voice acting.
Between 1959 and 1962 Poujouly was the voice of Tintin in two series of animations based on Hergé's books. In later years his voiceover credits included the Michael Douglas character, Steve Keller, in the dubbed French TV version of The Streets of San Francisco, and Merry in the 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings.
Death
Poujouly's last-known credit is Robinson et compagnie, a 1991 animated French language film version of Robinson Crusoe. Little is known of the last years of his life. He died of cancer, aged 60, on 28 October 2000.